While it doesn’t perform the way I’d hoped in corner sharpness for work like tight interiors with images needing to be print ready at even the most extreme angles of capture, it is a good lens that will be able to ignore this shortcoming in most cases. In short, Olympus have done it again and have produced yet another lens more than able to take on the mantle of being a ‘PRO’ lens. On top of that, even if you level your camera perfectly, your frame edges are often subject to varying degrees of distortion which can really affect your frame. Having said that, the lens is exceptionally sharp in the centre of the frame, especially at its widest setting. Two aspheric extra-low dispersion ED glass elements and a dual-sided aspheric element reduce distortion and peripheral aberrations, while three super ED glass elements, 1 ED glass element, and 2 high refractive index glass elements are used to minimise chromatic aberration.

It uses a revolutionary new way of arranging imaging elements to let more light in while boosting low light performance. In the second and third examples I’m positioned a little further away, but still focused on the foreground subject, allowing the background to blue a little as a consequence with the aperture set to f2.The lens has a compact, lightweight and weatherproof build, as well as the very best optical construction to deliver excellent results. I didn’t come across any problems except for when I reached the limit of the minimum focus distance.

For example, at 7mm, corrected data has a bit more than 1% barrel distortion, but pure raw data has a whopping 7% barrel distortion, with a slight non-linear aspect to it. I don't remember having to correct much for field curvature on the Panasonic; it was obvious I have to on the Olympus. So, if weight is an important factor to you, perhaps due to an injury, then the Panasonic may be the way to go. I've produced some very usable results from the lens, but boy I'd give plenty to bring the corners up closer to the central level on flat architectural subjects, and without extra effort on my part.This is mostly useful when shooting a movie clip with C-AF enabled, but the feature can also be used when photographing action. Olympus’s ZERO coating is employed to combat flare and ghosting, and the lens has an integrated hood.

The cheaper Olympus 9-18mm is slightly longer at each end of the range and unlike the two 7-14mm options, supports screw-in filters, although it misses out on the brighter and constant focal ratios, not to mention the weather-sealing of the 7-14mm f2. However, this is a common short-coming with wideangle zooms, and as with many other designs of this type, it’s confined to a relatively small area of the frame. If I were shooting people and events and mostly worried about a wide central region, the Olympus 7-14mm can be exceptional in its acuity. Whatever the scene, you have excellent edge-to-edge depictive power thanks to the special lens architecture and ZERO coating for reduced ghosting and flaring.Ordinarily I would be somewhat concerned about the warping and distortion that tends to take place in the outer edges of the frame, but what I actually found is that if I shot square on at chest height to my subjects I achieve a pretty standard feeling frame . At the 7mm end of the zoom range, the lens has a diagonal angle of view of 114°, equivalent to that of a 14mm lens in a 35mm system. Super ED elements, one ED element, and two HR (high-refractive index) elements into its design to minimize aberrations, distortion, and colour fringing while also contributing to overall image sharpness, clarity, and colour fidelity. It can be of great use for architectural shots depending on how well the perspective distortion is contained.

But the combination of field curvature and linear distortion correction makes getting "corner snap" difficult for some types of photography. This is the best way I can describe ‘proximity distortion’ in that keeping your subjects further away, even when positioned in the same area of the frame, will give you a better chance at keeping them looking the way they should. Its large capacity allows storage of multiple cameras and interchangeable lenses, while its overall compact size allows you to carry it on board when flying. Keep in mind though, if you will, this type of distortion, especially in this immediate case above, lends itself to actual physical depth in the scene. Of course we aren’t anywhere near a 1:1 ratio but the lens can focus close enough to capture interesting details or to create original compositions.The reason is that at this focal length, the front element is very much exposed and the hood doesn’t protect it that much. The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mk II used for this test is a good match for the lens, offering good balance, fast auto focus, and full environmental seals. Anyway…if you and Jeff want to see sharp…get your hands on one of those new SamYang/Rokinon SP 14mm f/2. Along the way, he's shot extensively with cameras and lenses of almost every imaginable type, brand and format.